A typical handgun holster includes a body portion defining a chamber having an opening. The handgun is inserted, muzzle first, through the opening into the chamber. The handgun is thereby received and supported in the body portion of the holster.
It is desirable for the handgun to be positioned and retained in the chamber, by means other than a tight fit of the handgun itself in the holster. To that end, some holsters incorporate a tensioning device. The tensioning device engages the handgun body portion inside the chamber, for example engaging the muzzle. The frictional engagement between the tensioning device and the handgun helps to position the handgun in the holster, and also helps to resist inadvertent movement of the handgun out of the holster.
Holsters with adjustable tensioning devices are known; these devices can be adjusted to control the amount of tension that is applied to the handgun. As one example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,694,560 discloses a handgun holster with an adjustable tensioning member that has a flexibly mounted end portion that can be pushed toward or away from the holster chamber by adjusting a set screw. This is a one-time setting of the starting position of the tensioning member. The tensioning member does not resiliently engage the handgun. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,322,612 discloses a handgun holster with an adjustable tensioning member that is elongate and is suspended freely between its ends. The starting position of the tensioning member can be set with a screw. After the starting position is set, the tensioning member engages the handgun when in the chamber, but not resiliently. The tensioning member has a long, unsupported, central portion which may eventually weaken or fracture.